Thursday, August 02, 2012

CMS to Release Follow-up Comparative Billing Report on August 6

On Monday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will release a follow-up Comparative Billing Report (CBR) to the 5,000 independent physical therapy providers who received the report in 2010. The CBR shows KX modifier use for 5 codes commonly billed by physical therapists. The report will be the same format as the CBR released in 2010. However, this CBR will use 2011 billing data, intending to inform providers of any change in use since receiving the original CBR.

The CBRs are produced by Safeguard Services under contract with CMS and contain data-driven tables and graphs with an explanation of findings that compare nationally and statewide physical therapist billing and payment patterns with the KX modifier. Safeguard Services has indicated to APTA that these reports are only educational rather than punitive, intending to prevent improper billing and use of the KX modifier.